Book: The Rose Garden

 

Author: Susanna Kearsley

 

Genre: Fiction/Sci-Fi/History

 

Summary: Eva Ward returns to the only place she truly belongs, the old house on the Cornish coast, seeking happiness in memories of childhood summers. There she finds mysterious voices and hidden pathways that sweep her not only into the past, but also into the arms of a man who is not of her time. But Eva must confront her own ghosts, as well as those of long ago. As she begins to question her place in the present, she comes to realize that she too must decide where she really belongs. -Sourcebooks, 2011.

 

I enjoyed Kearsley's 'The Winter Sea' and the sequel 'The Firebird' but ended up taking a break from 'The Rose Garden' 70% in. As lovely as Kearsley's writing is, the pace was dragging some for me.

 

The 1715 Jacobite rebellion again figures into the story, but the setting is Cornwall rather than Scotland (and Russia) here, and the time traveling heroine, Eva, falls for Daniel who is also involved in smuggling. Eva is grieving after the death of her sister and returns to Cornwall where they stayed with family while growing up. Aside from the complications spontaneous time travel presents, nothing much has happened to Eva so far. I'm also finding Daniel's close friend, Fergal, the more interesting character of the two. Hmm...   

Maeve Brennan is a master of short stories. All in all, this was not my favorite collection (her Springs of Affection is much better, in my opinion, but it was still an enjoyable read. Brennan's prose is breathtakingly beautiful in parts, and there are several excellent reflections on topics ranging from the role and place of women, to emigration and immigration, to class boundaries and socioeconomic divisions. Perhaps not a MUST read, but certainly a very entertaining experience.

Rating: 3 stars

A well written look at mental illness for YA.

I consider myself as an atheist/agnostic person, so I shouldn't have liked this Islamic collection of poems so much and rated it 5 stars, but I have some certain reasons for doing so:

1. It is a very well written piece of classical Persian literature in its own kind. I can't remember the last time that I read a fascinating book in Persian and told myself "What a treasure!", so I couldn't resist.

2. Is it really necessary to be a Muslim/religious person to like a masterpiece which is talking about God, beliefs and morality? Isn't it possible to switch off your atheist part of your brain for a few hours and just enjoy the contents? For an agnostic it wouldn't be difficult to read something without prejudice though.

3. Reading a classical religious book is easier than reading a contemporary religious book, because you know that many years passed, people those days had different ideas which by passing years they have been changed. You can easily enjoy the total theme.

This book was written in an asking and answering form. Mahmud Shabistari is one of the most celebrated Persian Sufi poets of the 14th century. Sufism was one of my interests before turning to atheism and as far as I know it is so different from Islam. In Sufism the first important step in your mystical path is to switch off your mind and know your God only through your heart. It was a nice experience to me, but unfortunately I finally asked that cursed question: "But, what does it all mean?!"...

LET reason go. For His Light
Burns reason up from head to foot.
If you wish to see that Face,
Seek another eye. The philosopher
With his two eyes sees double,
So is unable to see the unity of the Truth.

This book is also a good place to start reading classical Persian literature. It is a short book and the language is simple and so sweet that you can't put it down. And if you are the one who wants to start Persian poetry with Rumi's Masnavi ...Not a good idea!